Received this in an email. Please note date. I called the phone number to confirm that this in not a joke. Dr. Roberts IS seeking information from vets who have treated pets sicken by the jerky treats. Here’s the email:
“Please forward:
We received the following fax from Dr. Brian K. Roberts of Veterinary Specialist of South Florida:
9/8/07
Please forward this message all BCVMA (Broward County Veterinary Medical Association) members. Alert all pet owners to not feed their dogs and/or cats any “chicken jerky” treats. The treats in question were produced in China. We have treated a number of patients with tubular renal disease causing Fanconi-like syndrome in dogs who have eaten such treats. These patients present with symptoms of polyurina/polydypsia, vomiting, anorexia and abdominal pain. They are also isosthenuric or hyposthenuric. All patients have classic biochemical markers of Fanconi: normoglycemia, metabolic acidosis, hypokalemia, glucosuria +/- ketonuria.
It appears that this Fanconi-like syndrome is permanent and patients require change in diet and life-long therapy with Dr. Gonto’s protocol which can be found on the internet: http://basenjihealth.org/FanconiProtocol.pdf.
Please contact Dr. Brian Roberts if you suspect a case. Minimum database labwork, venous acid-base and urinalysis should be performed. Acidemic patients with normoglycemia and glucosuria should be considered affected. Product information including the actual treat and packaging should be acquired. Dr. Roberts is collecting data to forward to Drs. Gonto and Goldstein in order to build a case for the FDA.
Brian K. Roberts, DVM, DACVECC
954-437-9630”